HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9614 -1922 & 1904 Battery St - BOA Staff RptSEPT 19, 2021
ITEM NO. 4 Z-9614
1
File No.: Z-9614
Owners: Otis and WF Tyler
Applicant: Otis Tyler
Address: 1904 & 1922 Battery St
Legal Description: Part of Lot 15 and 16 and all of Lots 17 and 18 and a 16-foot
ally lying west of and adjacent to Lots 16-18, all of Block 7,
Moore, and Penzel’s Addition to the city of Little Roc, Pulaski
County Arkansas
Lots 12, 13, and 14, Block 7, Moore, and Penzel’s Addition to
the city of Little Roc, Pulaski County Arkansas
Zoned: R-4
Present Use: Single-family Residence (1904 Battery St)
Vacant Residence (1922 Battery St)
Proposed Use: Single-family Residence
Variance(s) Requested: Variances are requested from the height and area provisions
of Section 36-516 to allow an increased fence height from four
(4) feet to six (6) feet between a required building setback line
and a street right-of-way.
Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented as per the attached
letter dated December 14, 2020.
STAFF REPORT
A. Planning and Development Civil Engineering Comments:
No Comments.
B. Buffering and Landscape Comments:
No Comments
C. Building Codes Comments:
No Comments
D. Staff Analysis:
SEPT 19, 2021
ITEM NO. 4 Z-9614
2
The R-4 zoned properties located at 1904 & 1922 Battery Street are located on the
west side of the road south of the intersection of West 19th and Battery Streets. The
applicant has stated that he owns both properties which are located next door to
each other. The 1922 property has been the applicant’s primary residence for 35
years but recently was damaged by fire in November of 2020 and is now
uninhabitable. The applicant has stated that he will rebuild his home but has
concerns about his family’s safety and his daughter’s safety who lives in the 1904
Battery Street property. The applicant has stated there have been series of crimes
in the neighborhood involving people trespassing on his and his neighbor’s
properties and is requesting to build a 6-foot fence between the street right-of-way
and the front building setback line.
The applicant has provided a sketch indicating that a 6-foot-high wrought iron fence
will be located inside the property line facing Battery St. The fence will run the length
of both properties and return to the west on both the north and south sides of each
of the respective lots. The proposed iron fence will travel up the side yard of each
property until meeting an existing 6-foot-high wood fence approximately located
even with the front face of each house. The sketch also indicates that the existing
sidewalk and a proposed landscape strip will be located west of the fence allowing
public access and a planting buffer in front of the properties. Remote controlled
pedestrian gates will be provided at each of the home’s interior sidewalk leading to
the home entries and a vehicular gate will be located at the shared drive between
the two properties. The applicant has stated that the fence will be primarily for
security but is also intended to be decorative and add curb appeal to the homes.
Section 36-516 (e)(1)(a) of the City’s Zoning Ordinance states that the residential
fence standards; “Between a required building setback line and a street right-of-way,
the maximum height shall be four (4) feet. Other fences may be erected to a
maximum height of eight (8) feet.” The applicant requests a variance to allow the
extension of the fence height to six (6) feet on the east (front) property lines, adjacent
to the street right-of-way.
Based the analysis above, staff believes the proposal is keeping within the
character and scale of the neighborhood and views the variance request as
reasonable. Staff also notes that other residential side and rear yards allow the
construction of fences to a height of eight (8) feet.
E. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the requested front yard fence variance as
presented in the attached documentation.